English

Noun

See also

Cricket is a bat-and-ballsport contested by two
teams,
usually of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a
grass field, roughly oval in
shape, in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground
22 yards
(20.12 m) long, called a cricket
pitch. A wicket,
usually made of wood, is placed at each end of the pitch.

The bowler,
a player from the fielding team, bowls a
hard, fist-sized cricket ball
from the vicinity of one wicket towards the other. The ball usually
bounces once before reaching the batsman, a player from the
opposing team. In defence of the wicket, the batsman plays the ball
with a wooden cricket bat.
Meanwhile, the other members of the bowler's team stand in various
positions around the field as fielders, players who retrieve
the ball in an effort to stop the batsman scoring runs, and if
possible to get him or her out.
The batsman — if he or she does not get out — may run between the
wickets, exchanging ends with a second batsman (the "non-striker"),
who has been waiting near the bowler's wicket. Each completed
exchange of ends scores one run. Runs
are also scored if the batsman hits the ball to the boundary
of the playing area. The match is won by the team that scores more
runs.

Overview

The aim of the batting team is to score as many
runs as
possible. A run is scored when both batsmen successfully move to
their respective opposite ends of the pitch. (The
batsmen will usually only attempt to score runs after the striker
has hit the ball, but this is not required by the rules—the batsmen
can attempt runs at any time after the ball has been bowled.) Runs
are also scored if the batsman hits the ball to the boundary of the
playing area (this scores six runs if the ball crosses the boundary
without having touched the ground, or four runs otherwise), or if
the bowler commits some technical infringement like bowling the
ball out of reach of the batsman.

The aim of the bowler's team is to get each
batsman out
(this is called a "taking a wicket", or a "dismissal"). Dismissals
are achieved in
a variety of ways. The most direct way is for the bowler to
bowl the ball so that the batsman misses it and it hits the
stumps, dislodging a
bail.
While the batsmen are attempting a run, the fielders may dismiss
either batsman by using the ball to knock the bails off the set of
stumps to which the batsman is closest before he has grounded
himself or his bat in the crease.
Other ways for the fielding side to dismiss a batsman include
catching
the ball off the bat before it touches the ground, or having the
batsman adjudged "leg
before wicket" (abbreviated "L.B.W." or "lbw") if the ball
strikes the batsman's body and would have gone on to hit the
wicket. Once the batsmen are not attempting to score any more runs,
the ball is "dead", and is bowled again (each attempt at bowling
the ball is referred to as a "ball" or a "delivery").

The game is divided into overs of
six (legal) balls. At the end of an over another bowler from the
fielding side bowls from the opposite end of the pitch. The two
umpires also change positions between overs (the umpire previously
at square-leg becomes the bowler's umpire at what is now the
bowling end, and vice versa). The fielders also usually change
positions between overs.

Once out, a batsman is replaced by the next
batsman in the team's line-up. (The batting side can reorder their
line-up at any time, but no batsman may bat twice in one innings.)
The innings
(singular) of the batting team ends when the tenth batsman is given
out, leaving one batsman not out but without a partner. When this
happens, the team is said to be "all out". (In limited
overs cricket the innings ends either when the
batting team is all out or a predetermined number of overs has been
bowled.) At the end of an innings, the two teams exchange roles,
and the side that has been fielding bats.

A team's score is reported in terms of the number
of runs scored and the number of batsmen that have been dismissed.
For example, if five batsmen are out and the team has scored 224
runs, they are said to have scored 224 for the loss of 5 wickets
(commonly shortened to "224 for five" and written 224/5 or, in
Australia, "five for 224" and 5/224).

The team that has scored more runs at the end of
the completed match wins. Different varieties of the game have
different definitions of "completion"; for instance there may be
restrictions on the number of overs, the number of innings, and the
number of balls in each innings.

Results

If the team that bats last is all out having scored
fewer runs than their opponents, the team is said to have "lost by
n runs" (where n is the difference between the number of runs
scored by the teams). If the team that bats last scores enough runs
to win, it is said to have "won by n wickets", where n is the
number of wickets left to fall. For instance a team that passes its
opponents' score having only lost six wickets would have won "by
four wickets".

In a two-innings-a-side match, one team's
combined first and second innings total may be less than the other
side's first innings total. The team with the greater score is then
said to have won by an innings and n runs, and does not need to bat
again: n is the difference between the two teams' aggregate
scores.

If the team batting last is all out, and both
sides have scored the same number of runs, then the match is a
tie; this result is quite rare in matches of two innings a
side. In the traditional form of the game, if the time allotted for
the match expires before either side can win, then the game is
declared a
draw.

If the match has only a single innings per side,
then a maximum number of deliveries for each innings is often
imposed. Such a match is called a "limited overs" or "one-day"
match, and the side scoring more runs wins regardless of the number
of wickets lost, so that a draw cannot occur. If this kind of match
is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a complex
mathematical formula, known as the Duckworth-Lewis
method after its developers, is often used to recalculate a new
target score. A one-day match can also be declared a "no-result" if
fewer than a previously agreed number of overs have been bowled by
either team, in circumstances that make normal resumption of play
impossible; for example, wet weather.

Laws of cricket

see details Laws of
cricket The game is played in accordance with 42 laws, which
have been developed by the Marylebone
Cricket Club in discussion with the main cricketing nations.
Teams may agree before a game to introduce other rules or alter
some of the existing rules. In particular, there are a number of
modifications to rules dictating fielding positions for
professional limited overs matches.

Players and officials

Players

A team consists of eleven players. Depending on
his or her primary skills, a player may be classified as a
specialist batsman or
bowler.
A balanced team usually has five or six specialist batsmen and four
or five specialist bowlers. Teams nearly always include a
specialist wicket-keeper
because of the importance of this fielding position. Each team is
headed by a captain,
who is responsible for making tactical decisions such as
determining the batting order, the placement of fielders and the
rotation of bowlers.

A player who excels in both batting and bowling
is known as an all-rounder.
One who excels as a batsman and wicket-keeper is known as a
"wicket-keeper/batsman", sometimes regarded as a type of
all-rounder. True all-rounders are rare; most players focus on
either batting or bowling skills.

Umpires

Two on-field umpires
preside over a match. One umpire stands behind the bowler's wicket,
and adjudicates on most decisions. The other (the "square leg
umpire") stands with a side view of the batsman (usually near the
fielding position called
square leg), and assists in decisions for which he or she has a
better view. In some professional matches the facility exists for
them to refer some decisions to a third
umpire, who has the assistance of television replays. In
international matches a match
referee ensures that play is within the laws of
cricket and the spirit of the game. The third umpire and
referee do not take the field during play.

Scorers

see details Scorer Two scorers are appointed; usually,
one is provided by each team. The laws of cricket specify that the
official scorers are to record all runs scored, wickets taken and
(where appropriate) overs bowled. They are to acknowledge signals
from the umpires, and to check the accuracy of the score regularly
both with each other and, at playing intervals, with the umpires.
In practice scorers also keep track of other matters, such as
bowlers' analyses, the rate at which the teams bowl their overs,
and team statistics
such as averages and records. In international and national cricket
competitions, the media often require notification of records and
statistics, so unofficial scorers often keep tally for broadcast
commentators and newspaper journalists. The official scorers
occasionally make mistakes, but unlike umpires' mistakes these can
be corrected after the event.

The playing field

see details Cricket
field The cricket field consists of a large, often circular or oval-shaped,
grassy ground.
There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between
450 feet (137 m) and 500 feet
(150 m). The perimeter of the field, known as the boundary,
is marked, often with a rope or a painted line.

The pitch

see details Cricket
pitch Most of the action takes place in the centre of this
ground, on a rectangular clay strip usually with short grass called
the pitch. The pitch measures
10 × 66 feet
(3.05 × 20.12 m). The longer dimension
of the pitch is also a unit of length known as a chain.

At each end of the pitch three upright wooden
stakes, called the stumps,
are hammered into the ground. Two wooden crosspieces, known as the
bails, sit
in grooves atop the stumps, linking each to its neighbour. Each set
of three stumps and two bails is collectively known as a wicket.
One end of the pitch is designated the "batting end" where the
batsman stands and the
other is designated the "bowling end" where the bowler
runs in to bowl.

The area of the field on the side of the line
joining the wickets where the batsman holds his bat (the right-hand
side for a right-handed batsman, the left for a left-hander) is
known as the "off side", the other as the "leg side" or "on
side".

Lines drawn or painted on the pitch are known as
creases.
Creases are used to adjudicate the dismissals
of batsmen and to determine whether a delivery is legal.

The nature of the pitch

Pitches vary in consistency, and
thus in the amount of bounce, spin, and seam movement available to
the bowler. Hard pitches are usually good to bat on because of high
but even bounce. Dry pitches tend to deteriorate for batting as
cracks often appear, and when this happens spinners can play a
major role. Damp pitches, or pitches covered in grass (termed
"green" pitches), allow good fast bowlers to extract extra bounce
and seam movement. Such pitches tend to offer help to fast bowlers
throughout the match, but become better for batting as the game
goes on.

Parts of the field

For some limited-over matches, there are
two additional field markings. A painted oval is made by drawing a
semicircle of 30 yards (27.4 m) radius from the
centre of each wicket with respect to the breadth of the pitch and
joining them with lines parallel,
30 yards (27.4 m) to the length of the pitch. This line,
commonly known as the "circle", divides the field into an infield
and outfield. Two circles of radius 15 yards (13.7 m), centred on
each wicket and often marked by dots, define the "close-infield".
The infield, outfield, and the close-infield are used to enforce
fielding restrictions.

Placements of players

The batting team always has two
batsmen on the field. One batsman, known as the "striker", faces
and plays the balls bowled by the bowler. His or her partner stands
at the bowling end and is known as the "non-striker".

The fielding team has eleven players on the
ground. One of them is the current bowler.
The wicket-keeper,
who generally acts in that role for the whole innings, stands or
crouches behind the wicket at the batting end. The captain of the
fielding team spreads his or her remaining nine players — the
fielders — around the
ground, positioned according to the team's strategy.

Match structure

The toss

The two opposing captains toss a coin
before the match, and the captain who wins chooses either to bat or
bowl first. The captain's decision is usually based on whether the
team's bowlers are likely to gain immediate advantage from the
pitch and weather conditions (these can vary significantly), or
whether it is more likely that the pitch will deteriorate and make
batting more difficult later in the game.

Overs

Each innings is divided into overs,
each consisting of six consecutive legal deliveries bowled by the
same bowler.
For the definition of illegal deliveries, see Extras. No bowler
may bowl two consecutive overs, so at the end of the over the
bowler takes up a fielding position and another player bowls.

Overs are bowled from alternate ends of the
pitch; at the end of each over the umpires swap, the umpire at the
bowler's end moving to square leg, and the umpire at square leg
moving to the new bowler's end. The fielders also usually change
positions.

End of an innings

An innings is completed if:

Ten out of eleven batsmen are out (dismissed); the team are
said to be "all out".

The team has only one batsman left who can bat, one or more of
the remaining players being unavailable owing to injury, illness or
absence; again, the team is said to be "all out".

The team batting last reaches the score required to win the
match.

The predetermined number of overs has been bowled (in a one-day
match only, most commonly 50 overs).

A captain declares
his team's innings closed (this does not apply in one-day limited
over matches).

Playing time

Typically, two-innings matches are played over
three to five days with at least six hours of cricket played each
day. One-innings matches are usually played in one day, and often
last six hours or more. There are usually formal intervals on each
day for lunch and tea, and brief informal breaks for drinks. There
is also a short interval between innings.

The game is usually only played in dry weather;
play is also usually stopped if it becomes too dark for the batsmen
to be able to see the ball safely. Some one-day games are now
played under floodlights but, apart from a few experimental games
in Australia, floodlights are not used in longer games.
Professional cricket is usually played outdoors. These requirements
mean that in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and
Zimbabwe the game is usually restricted to the summer. In the West
Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh games are played
in the winter. These countries' hurricane and monsoon seasons coincide with
their summer.

Batting

The batsman may play a "shot" or "stroke",
attempting to hit the bowled ball with the flat surface of the bat.
If the ball brushes the side of the bat it is called an "edge".
There is no requirement for the batsman to play a shot, and there
is no requirement to run if the ball is struck. The batsman
automatically scores runs if he hits the ball to the boundary.
Shots are named according to the style of swing and the direction
aimed. As part of the team's strategy, the player may bat
defensively, blocking the ball downwards, or aggressively, hitting
the ball hard to empty spaces in order to score runs.

Batsmen come in to bat in a batting
order, decided by the team captain. The first two batsmen - the
"openers" - usually face the most hostile bowling, from fresh fast
bowlers with a new ball. The top batting positions are usually
given to the most competent batsmen in the team, and the
non-batsmen typically bat last. The batting order is not agreed
beforehand, and if a wicket falls any player who has not batted yet
may bat next.

Run scoring

To score a run, a
striker must run to the opposite end of the pitch, while his
non-striking partner runs to his end. To register a run, both
runners must touch the ground behind the crease with either their
bats or their bodies (the batsmen carry their bats as they run). If
the striker hits the ball well enough, the batsmen may double back
to score two or more runs. However, no rule requires the batsman to
run upon striking the ball. The decision to attempt a run is
ideally made by the batsman who has the better view of the ball's
position, and this is communicated by calling: "yes", "no" and
"wait" are often heard. The batsmen swap ends every time an odd
number of runs are scored.

If a fielder knocks the bails off the stumps with
the ball while no part of the batsman is grounded behind the
popping
crease, the batsman nearer the broken wicket is run out. The
batsman may ground the bat, provided he or she is holding it.

If the ball reaches the boundary, then runs are
automatically scored: six if the ball goes over the boundary
without touching the ground, four if it touched the ground. These
are scored instead of any runs the batsmen may have already run
(unless they have run more, which is unlikely), and they return to
the ends at which they started.

Extras

Every run scored by the batsmen contributes to the
team's total. A team's total also includes a number of runs which
are unaccredited to any batsmen. These runs are known as extras;
in Australia they are also called "sundries".

Bowling and dismissals

Bowling

A bowler delivers the ball toward the batsmen:
during the bowling action the elbow may be held at any angle and
may bend further, but may not straighten out. If the elbow
straightens illegally then the square-leg umpire may call no-ball.
The current laws allow a bowler to straighten his arm 15 degrees or
less.

The bowler's primary goal is usually to get the
batsman out; the most common modes of dismissal (except run out)
are credited to the bowler, who is said to have taken a wicket.
Dismissing an accomplished batsman is more difficult than
dismissing a non-batsman. The bowler's secondary task is usually to
limit the numbers of runs scored. Occasionally the match situation
makes it more important to limit runs than take wickets.

There are many
types of bowler, and many nuances of bowling techniques. Two
categories are pace
bowlers, who aim to bowl quicker than the batsman's reaction
speed, and spin bowlers
who bowl slower deliveries that bounce and curve in unpredictable
ways.

Dismissal of a batsman

There are ten ways in which a
batsman may be dismissed. Once a batsman is dismissed, he leaves
the field to be replaced by another batsman. When the tenth batsmen
is out, and only one batsman remains undismissed, the side is "all
out" and the innings is over.

Many modes of dismissal require the wicket to be
"put down". The wicket is put down if a bail is dislodged from the
top of the stumps; or if a stump is struck out of the ground either
by the ball or by a fielder using the hand in which the ball is
being held. Of the following ten modes of dismissal, the first six
are common; while the last four are technicalities that rarely
occur. The ten modes are:

Caught —
When a fielder catches the ball before it bounces and after the
batsman has struck it with the bat or it has come into contact with
the batsman's glove while it is in contact with the bat handle. The
bowler and catcher are both credited with the dismissal. (Law
32)

Bowled —
When a delivered ball hits the stumps at the batsman's end, and
dislodges one or both of the bails. This happens regardless of
whether the batsman has edged the ball onto the stumps or not. The
bowler is credited with the dismissal. (Law
30)

Leg
before wicket (lbw) — When a delivered ball strikes the
batsman's leg, pad or body, and the umpire judges that the ball
would otherwise have struck the stumps. The laws of cricket
stipulate certain exceptions. For instance, a delivery pitching
outside the line of leg stump should not result in an lbw
dismissal, while a delivery hitting the batsman outside the line of
the off stump should result in an lbw dismissal only if the batsman
makes no attempt to play the ball with the bat. The bowler is
credited with the dismissal.

Run
out — When a fielder, bowler or wicket-keeper removes one or
both of the bails with the ball by hitting the stumps whilst a
batsman is still running between the two ends. The ball can either
hit the stumps directly or the fielder's hand with the ball inside
it can be used to dislodge the bails. Such a dismissal is not
officially credited to any player, although the identities of the
fielder or fielders involved are often noted in brackets on the
scorecard.

Stumped — When the batsman leaves his crease in playing a
delivery, voluntarily or involuntarily, but the ball goes to the
wicket-keeper who uses it to remove one or both of the bails
through hitting the bail(s) or the wicket before the batsman has
remade his ground. The bowler and wicket-keeper are both credited.
This generally requires the keeper to be standing within arm's
length of the wicket, which is done mainly to spin
bowling. (Law
39)

Hit
wicket — When the batsman knocks the stumps with either the
body or the bat, causing one or both of the bails to be dislodged,
either in playing a shot or in taking off for the first run. The
bowler is credited with the dismissal. (Law
35)

Handled
the ball — When the batsman deliberately handles the ball
without the permission of the fielding team. No player is credited
with the dismissal. (Law
33)

Hit
the ball twice — When the batsman deliberately strikes the ball
a second time, except for the sole purpose of guarding his wicket.
No player is credited with the dismissal. (Law
34)

Obstructing
the field — When a batsman deliberately hinders a fielder
attempting to field the ball. No player is credited with the
dismissal. (Law
37)

Timed
out — When a new batsman takes more than three minutes to take
his position in the field to replace a dismissed batsman. (If the
delay is protracted, the umpires may decide that the batting side
has forfeited the match). This rule prevents the batting team using
up time to unfair advantage. No player is credited with the
dismissal. (Law
31)

A batsman may leave the field without being
dismissed. If injured or taken ill the batsman may temporarily
retire, and be replaced by the next batsman. This is recorded as
retired
hurt or retired
ill. The retiring batsman is not out, and may resume the
innings later. An unimpaired batsman may retire, and this is
treated as being dismissed retired out;
no player is credited with the dismissal.

Batsmen cannot be out bowled, caught, leg before
wicket, stumped or hit wicket off a no ball. They cannot be out
bowled, caught, leg before wicket, or hit the ball twice off a
wide.

Some of these modes of dismissal can occur
without the bowler bowling a delivery. The batsman who is not on
strike may be
run out by the bowler if he leaves his crease before the bowler
bowls, and a batsman can be out obstructing the field or retired
out at any time. Timed out is, by its nature, a dismissal without a
delivery. With all other modes of dismissal, only one batsman can
be dismissed per ball bowled.

Fielding

Fielders assist the bowlers either by taking
catches to dismiss a batsman, or by saving runs by intercepting the
ball and returning it, possibly running out the batsman. The
wicket-keeper is the only fielder permitted to wear gloves. A
fielder may stop the ball with any part of his body.

The wicket-keeper
is a specialist fielder who stands behind the batsman's wicket. One
player from each side usually acts as the team's wicket-keeper
throughout the match. His primary job is to gather deliveries that
the batsman does not hit, so that the batsmen cannot run byes.
He wears special gloves (he is the only fielder allowed to do so),
and pads to cover his lower legs. Owing to his position directly
behind the striker, the wicket-keeper has a good chance of getting
a batsman out caught off a fine edge from the bat; thicker edges
are typically handled by the slip
fieldsmen. The wicket-keeper is also the only person who can get a
batsman out stumped.

Other roles

Captain

see details
Role of a cricket captain The captain's acumen in deciding the
strategy is sometimes crucial to the team's success. The captain
makes a number of important decisions, including setting
fielding positions, alternating the bowlers and taking the
"toss". Before the start of play the captains of the opposing teams
meet and toss a coin;
the winner of the toss decides which team will bat first. This
decision, made in consideration of pitch conditions, the weather
and the relative bowling and batting abilities of the two sides,
can have an enormous impact on the course of play. In One
Day Internationals the captain also decides when to make use of
some
powerplays.

Runners

In the event of a batsman being fit to bat but too
injured to run, the umpires and the fielding captain may allow
another member of the batting side to be a runner. If possible, the
runner must already have batted. The runner's only task is to run
between the wickets instead of the injured batsman. The runner is
required to wear and carry exactly the same equipment as the
incapacitated batsman. It is possible for both batsmen to have
runners, but this is extremely rare.

Substitutes

In all forms of cricket, if a player gets
injured or becomes ill during a match, a substitute is allowed to
field instead of him, but the substitute cannot bowl, bat, act as a
captain or wicket-keeper. The substitute leaves the field if the
injured player is fit to return.

For a period from July 2005, the ICC experimented
with Super
Subs in One
Day International (ODI) cricket and some other limited-overs
competitions. A single full substitution was allowed, and the
substituted player was not allowed to return to the game. It was
discontinued from March 2006.

History

Cricket can be traced back to the 16th century but
it may have originated much earlier than that. The most common
theory of origin is that it was invented by children of the
farming and metalworking communities in
the Weald
between Kent
and Sussex
during the medieval period. Written evidence exists of a game known
as creag being played by Prince
Edward, the son of Edward
I (Longshanks), at Newenden, Kent in 1300 and there
has been speculation, but no evidence, that this was a form of
cricket. Creag utlized a small, hard ball, known as a
"gillamachugger" which was similar to, yet smaller than, the ball
used in cricket.

In 1598, a court case referred to a sport called
creckett being played at the
Royal Grammar School, Guildford around 1550. This is the
earliest definite mention.

A number of words are thought to be possible
sources for the term "cricket". The name may derive from a term for
the cricket bat:
old French
criquet (meaning a kind of club) or Middle Dutch
krick(e) (meaning a stick) or in Old
English crycc (meaning a crutch or staff).
(The latter is problematic, since Old English 'cc' was palatal
in pronunciation in the south and the west midlands, roughly ch,
which is how crycc leads to crych and thence crutch; the 'k' sound
would be possible in northern dialects, however.) Alternatively,
the French criquet apparently derives from the Dutch word
krickstoel, which is a long low stool on which one kneels in
church and which
resembles the long low wicket with two stumps
used in early cricket.

During the 17th century, numerous references
indicate the growth of cricket in the south-east of England. By the
end of the century, it had become an organised activity being
played for high stakes and it is likely that the first
professionals appeared in that period. We know that "a great
cricket match" with eleven players a side was played for high
stakes in Sussex in 1697 and
this is the earliest reference we have to a cricket match of such
importance.

The game underwent major development in the 18th
century and had become the national sport of England by the end
of the century. Betting played a major part in that development
with rich patrons forming their own "select XIs". Cricket was
prominent in London as early as 1707 and large crowds flocked to
matches on the Artillery
Ground in Finsbury. The Hambledon
Club was founded in the 1760s but the Hambledon parish team was
already playing first-class
matches in 1756. For the next 20 years until the formation of
MCC
and the opening of Lord's in 1787,
Hambledon was the game's greatest club and its focal point. MCC
quickly became the sport's premier club and the custodian of the
Laws of
Cricket.

The 19th century saw underarm
replaced by first roundarm
and then overarm
bowling. Both developments were controversial. Organisation of
the game at county level led to the creation of the county clubs,
starting with Sussex CCC in
1839, which ultimately formed the official County
Championship in 1890.

In 1844, the first ever international cricket
match took place between the
United States and
Canada (although neither has ever been ranked as a Test-playing
nation). Fifteen years later, a team of England
players went on the first overseas tour (to North America) and 18
years after that another England team took part in the first-ever
Test
match at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground against Australia.

The legendary W G Grace
started his long career in 1865. It can fairly be said that he
revolutionised the sport and did much to ensure its massive
popularity.

The last two decades before the First World
War have been called the "Golden Age of Cricket". It is a
nostalgic name prompted by the collective sense of loss resulting
from the war, but the period did produce some great players and
memorable matches, especially as organised competition at county
and Test level developed.

The inter-war years were dominated by one player:
Don
Bradman, statistically the greatest batsman of all time. It was
the determination of the England team to overcome his skill that
brought about the infamous Bodyline series in
1932/33.

Cricket entered a new era in 1963, when English
counties introduced a variant form of cricket match that would be
sure to produce a result: games with a restricted number of overs
per side. This gained widespread popularity and resulted in the
birth of One
Day International (ODI) matches in 1971. The governing
International Cricket Council quickly adopted the new form and
held the first ODI Cricket
World Cup in 1975. Since then, ODI matches have gained a large
following.

As of the early 2000s, however, the longer form
of cricket is experiencing a growing resurgence in popularity but a
new limited overs phenomenon, Twenty20, has made
an immediate impact.

Forms of cricket

Test cricket

Test cricket is a form of international
cricket started during the 1876/77 English
cricket team's tour of Australia. The very first Test match
began on 15
March, 1877; Australia
won by 45 runs. The Test cricket series between England and
Australia is now called The Ashes.
Since then, over 1,800 Test matches have been played and the number
of Test playing nations has increased to ten with Bangladesh,
the most recent nation elevated to Test status,
making its debut in 2000. Test matches are two innings per side,
and are nowadays restricted to a maximum of five days. In the past,
Tests have been played over three, four, or six days, and some have
been "Timeless" - played to a finish with no maximum duration.
Tests that are not finished within the allotted time are
drawn.

One-day cricket

Limited overs matches, also known as
"one-day cricket", were introduced in the English domestic season
of 1963 in response to demands for a shorter and more dramatic form
of cricket. One-day, single-innings, matches often took place
before this, but the innovation was the limiting of each side's
innings to an agreed number of overs (nowadays usually 40 or 50).
The idea was taken up in the international arena in 1971, during
England's tour of Australia, when a match was played on the
scheduled fifth day of the rained-off third Test. The one-day game
has since become a crowd-pleaser and TV-audience-generator across
the globe, hastened in part by the success of the inaugural World
Cup in 1975. The abbreviations "ODI" (One Day International) or
sometimes "LOI" (Limited Overs International) are used for
international matches of this type. Innovations have included the
introduction of coloured clothing, distinct tournaments, and
"day-night" matches (where play extends into the night under
floodlights); together with frequent nail-biting finishes and the
impossibility of either side opting to play for a draw, these have
seen ODI cricket gain many supporters.

Twenty20 Cricket

Twenty20 Cricket was first played in
English domestic cricket in 2003 to popularise first-class cricket
and attract more spectators. It has since spread to many other
countries. A Twenty20 match consists of 20 overs for each side, a
"free hit" after an illegal no-ball is bowled, short boundaries,
batting-friendly pitches, and other rules designed to attract
spectators who would not attend the slower-paced one-day games or
test matches. The first men's Twenty20 international was between
Australia
and New
Zealand in 2005, the first women's Twenty20 international
having been between
England and
New Zealand in 2004. From 2007 to 2015 the Twenty20 World
Championship will be held every two years; the first was staged in
South Africa in 2007, and was won by India.
It has an abbreviation as T20.

First-class matches

A "first-class" match is generally
defined as a high-level international or domestic match that takes
place over at least three days on natural (as opposed to
artificial) turf. First-class games are two innings per side. Like
Test matches, if the game is not completed over the allotted time
then it is drawn. Games where the teams have only one innings each
are not first-class (including one-day internationals).

Among cricket statisticians, first class cricket
is variously deemed to have started in 1660, 1772, 1801, 1815 or
1864; the reasons for this are described in the main article.

Cricket statisticians have also introduced the
concept of list A
status, which is not first-class, but includes important
limited-over matches.

Other forms of cricket

At all levels, the rules of cricket
are often modified. At international or first-class levels this is
usually in order to make the game more commercially attractive.
More or less formal domestic club cricket
matches are usually played over one to two days, either two innings
per side or one innings per side with limited overs. At lower
levels the rules are often changed simply to make the game playable
with limited resources, or to render it more convenient and
enjoyable for the participants. Variants of the sport are played in
areas as diverse as sandy beaches and ice floes. Families and
teenagers play backyard
cricket in suburban yards or driveways, and the teeming cities
of India and Pakistan play host to countless games of "Gully
Cricket" or "tapeball" on their streets(played in long narrow
streets) with rules such as one bounce catch such rules and lack of
space ensure the batsmen have to play cautiously . Tennis balls and
homemade bats are often used, and a variety of objects may serve as
wickets such as the batters legs, as in "French
cricket", which did not in fact originate in France, and is
usually played by small children. Sometimes the rules are also
improvised: for instance it is sometimes agreed that fielders can
catch the ball with one hand after one bounce and claim a wicket,
or if only a few people are available then everyone may field while
the players take it in turns to bat and bowl.

In Kwik
cricket, the bowler does not have to wait for the batsman to be
ready before a delivery, leading to a faster, more exhausting game
designed to appeal to children, which is often used in English
schools' PE lessons. Another modification to increase the pace of
the game is the "Tip and Run", "Tipity" Run, "Tipsy Run" or
"Tippy-Go" rule, in which the batter must run when the ball touches
the bat, even if it the contact is unintentional or minor. This
rule, seen only in impromptu games, speeds the match up by
disabling the batsman's ability to block the ball. Indoor
cricket is played in a netted, indoor arena.

In Estonia, teams
gather over the winter for the annual Ice Cricket
tournament. The game juxtaposes the normal summer pursuit with
harsh, wintry conditions. Rules are otherwise similar to those for
the six-a-side game.

Each nation has a national cricket board which
regulates cricket matches played in its country. The cricket board
also selects the national squad and organises home and away tours
for the national team.